But, you have to wonder about how much Hideki Matsui, Melky Cabrera and Johnny Damon will be missed – as they seemed to have that special “play maker” ability. Also, Phil Coke and Jose Molina, while not stars, filled special roles on the team. And, lastly, Eric Hinske, Jerry Hairston and Chien-Ming Wang seemed as if they were liked by their teammates – much the same as Godzilla, Leche and Damon.

Now, this is not to say that Granderson, Johnson, Vazquez, and, DeRosa are bad guys in the field or the clubhouse. And, I really want to stress that point.

It’s just more a matter of how much Matsui, Cabrera, Damon, Coke, Molina, and the others will be missed in terms of what they brought to the total team picture.

To be honest, I have no idea. It’s just that it is a question, in my mind, that we should not lose sight of…in Yankeeland…as we head into next season.

Comments on Here’s Your Ring & There’s The Door

It’s just more a matter of how much Matsui, Cabrera, Damon, Coke, Molina, and the others will be missed in terms of what they brought to the total team picture.

From a performance standpoint, I think Matsui and Damon will be missed and that’s it. Matsui was obviously not as productive in his second contract as he was in his first but we all saw how valuable he was when he played a relatively full slate of games as the team’s DH in 2009: .274/.367/.509 with 28 HR in 142 games.

Damon’s four years in New York provided a .285/.363/.458 batting line with 77 HR and 93 SB (21 CS) in 576 games. He played CF and LF and although his defensive shortcomings are well known, he more than justified his existence as a good leadoff and #2 hitter for the team.

In short, those kinds of good hitters don’t grow on trees and don’t get replaced out of thin air.

For the rest of them:

-Cabrera was a 4th OF type, valuable for his versatility but not good enough that he wasn’t a replaceable part. After all, he was demoted in 2008 for poor performance and lost his starting job to start the year in 2009 as well. Gardner is pretty much the same guy with a slightly different, but equally flawed, skill-set;
-Coke was a bullpen lefty that may or may not have had a role on the team in 2010. Marte pitched so well in October to the point that Coke became invisible the playoffs (2.2 IP in 15 playoff games);
-Molina was a backup catcher. Good with the glove, terrible with the stick and that’s about it. Cervelli should be about as bad at the plate and about as good with the glove to make it a pretty moot point.

It’s impossible to know how much those guys will be missed in the clubhouse (if at all) because things like “chemistry” are unquantifiable and, further, it’s debatable if “chemistry” even matters.

The Yanks are no worse on paper in 2010 than they were in 2009. Where I think the Yanks have lost a little bit is in the depth department.

Where did you hear the Yankees are going to add Mark DeRosa? The San Francisco Giants offered him 2 years @ $6 million per year and I can’t see the Yankees matching that. Other than that I’ve heard of no offers.

Plus DeRosa is not an everyday player. He’s a utility man that somehow has beocme a guy people think can play everyday. I don’t get it.